Back to the Basics
by Rynn-Sama
Summary: Takes place after the All Valley Tournament of 2018. Johnny and Daniel take their students, Miguel and Robby, camping to try to build bridges and heal old wounds.


"You still don't have your tent set up sensei?"

Blue eyes glared as he looked up from the tent poles and nylon. "If _Danielle_ knew how to read instructions we might be done by now…"

"Hey now," Daniel spoke up quickly, "I can read just fine! You're the one who has been arguing with me every step of the way!"

"Want me to do it sensei? Robby and I got ours set up like 10 mins ago." Miguel smiled brightly as he knelt down to inspect what had been done so far with the tent, which wasn't much.

"Yeah, perfect," Johnny dropped the poles he held as he stood and dusted off his jeans.

Daniel shot Johnny a look before turning to the others student with a smile. "Thank you Miguel, but no. We can take care of this. Where _is_ Robby by the way?"

Johnny watched as Miguel shrugged. You could tell he still wasn't keen on the other teen but he was trying hard to keep it to himself, probably for Johnny's sake. "I dunno, went to get firewood?"

"Alright," Daniel motioned off to the brush, "How about you help him with that. Remember, we are here to build bridges. Hard to do that if you're here and Robby is out there."

Miguel looked at Johnny who just shrugged his shoulders. The teen rolled his eyes before standing and leaving.

"Why the hell did you send him away? Why are we messing around with this when he could have it done in a minute flat?" Johnny finally complained once his student was out of earshot.

"You know Robby and Miguel aren't the only ones who need to work things out right?" Daniel's voice was dry as he looked over the instructions again.

The blonde gave a sigh, once again grabbing a tent pole and trying to ease it into the seam of the tent. "Remember when camping was canvas tents without all this high tech shit? What tents need separate rooms?"

Daniel laughed, "Oh? I thought it would make you happy. You did say you didn't want to share a tent."

Johnny raised an eyebrow. "Actually, I think I said I had no intention of going on this god damn trip. Yet here I am."

With a few more tries they finally were able to set the tent up, only working on securing the fly as the teens returned.

"This seems like a hell of a lot of work for one night Larusso…"

Daniel smiled, "It's all about the experience Johnny, right Robby?"

The blonde watched the exchange of smiles between his son and rival. His jaw clenched as he tried to keep himself together. "Right Robby?" He repeated, looking between the two for an explanation.

"Mr. Larusso brought me out here to train, not long before the tournament actually. It helped a lot." His son explained.

His blood boiled. Not that he had ever expected his son to take up karate, but at the same time it hurt that it wasn't him teaching Robby. If there was anything useful he could pass on to his son, karate would be it. Yet once again in his life, nothing worked out. His own son had gone to the enemy.

"You were taking my kid camping in the wilderness? Did his mom know?" He sighed throwing his head back, remembering his last exchange with his ex, "Like hell she knew. What kind of creep takes kids overnight in the forest without his parents' permission?" Johnny's voice was starting to rise but he clenched his fists, just like he had at the tournament meeting that one night.

"Mr. Larusso –" Robby started before Daniel cut him off.

"First, I did not know he was your son. Secondly, we only came up for a day trip that time. We got back in time to have dinner with my family." Daniel held up his hands in defense.

"Wait what?" Miguel butted in, "Robby was with you the day he had dinner with you guys? He wasn't with Sam?"

Everyone stared at Miguel.

"That's a pretty specific question Diaz." Johnny laughed.

Robby shook his head, "Wait, how did you know I had dinner with them?"

"Woah, woah, woah," Daniel shook his head, "You know my daughter Samantha?"

"Yeah, she's my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?!"

Johnny chuckled, "What's wrong Larusso? You got a problem with your daughter dating a Cobra Kai?"

" _Ex_ -girlfriend." Robby said with a smirk.

"Yeah, because of you? Maybe you should back off and find your own girl!" Miguel shot back.

"The hell?" Johnny looked between the two boys before his eyes landed on Daniel. "Teaching my son your old tricks huh?"

"I didn't teach him anything other than karate." Daniel glared back before he turned to Robby. "Wait, are you making a move on my daughter?"

"No! We're just friends."

There was a lull as the four of them stood there, staring each other down.

"Why don't we go down to the docks to practice?" Daniel finally suggested. His voice was strained and it was easy to tell he was trying desperately to keep his cool after the discussion of his daughter.

"Heh," Johnny smiled, "We gonna kick their asses into the water?"

Robby rolled his eyes at his father before turning to walk away.

"Not quite," Daniel smiled, "You'll see when we get down there."

Johnny shook his head as he sat back in a camp chair. "Nah, I don't need any of your pansy ass karate, thanks."

It was now Daniel's turn to roll his eyes at the blonde. "What do you say Miguel, you coming?"

The teen was quiet for a moment as he studied his sensei's rival. "Were you the one that taught Sam karate?" He finally asked.

Daniel looked confused for a moment before answering. "Yes, I taught her when she was little. Why do you ask?"

Miguel smiled, "Well she showed me some pretty cool moves. So I was thinking if you taught her, then maybe you're kind of alright…"

A warm and genuine smile spread across Daniel's face. His daughter, doing karate with her boyfriend. Not that he wanted to think about her having a boyfriend, but the fact that even if she was too cool to practice with him, she hadn't forgotten everything he had taught her.

"Do you mind sensei?"

Johnny sighed, "I don't give a shit Diaz. Just grab me a drink from the cooler before you go. And don't expect any of that touchy feely bull shit when we get back to the dojo."

* * *

For the most part this little outing seemed like quite the bust. The only highlight Johnny could see was that night after dinner with the four of them shooting the shit together around the campfire. Robby had smiled and even laughed at a few of his jokes. Perhaps there was still a chance for him and his son after all.

The teens had already retired to their tent and Johnny watched as Daniel carefully went about extinguishing the fire.

"Hey Larusso… thanks. I mean for setting up this time with Robby. We haven't had a lot of time together. It's been… nice." He finally managed.

The other man shrugged with a sheepish grin. "I know growing up I'd have given anything for more time with my dad. Robby's a good kid. Give him time and he'll warm up."

Johnny nodded, kicking a rock on the ground. "And Diaz? How did he do today?"

"He's a good kid too," Daniel chuckled. "I hate to admit it, you've trained him pretty well."

The blonde smirked. "Damn straight I did."

Daniel stood, brushing off his pants. The two grown men stood in awkward silence.

"So I'm gonna hit the hay. You know we've got to get an early start to get everything packed in the morning."

"Yeah," Johnny nodded, "Me too. Hey… night Larusso."

Daniel was already heading back to the tent, a smile spreading across his face once more knowing the other couldn't see it.

"Night Johnny." He called over his shoulder.


End file.
